First Pan American Conference Convenes
The First Pan American Conference, which convened on October 2, 1889, in Washington, D.C., was a pivotal gathering that brought together representatives from nearly all nations in the Western Hemisphere, excluding Canada and the Dominican Republic. This marked the first formal effort towards fostering international cooperation in the Americas, following earlier attempts in the 19th century that were inspired by Simon Bolívar's vision of diplomatic unity. The conference, initiated by U.S. Secretary of State James G. Blaine under President Benjamin Harrison, aimed to address common interests and prevent war among American nations.
Despite strong economic ties with Europe, delegates chose not to adopt Blaine's proposal for a customs union. Instead, they established the International Union of American Republics, which later evolved into the Pan American Union. The outcomes included recommendations on sanitary regulations, patents, and trademarks, and set a precedent for future hemispheric cooperation. This event laid the groundwork for subsequent Pan American conferences and ultimately contributed to the establishment of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1948, emphasizing the ongoing commitment to collaboration among countries in the Americas.
First Pan American Conference Convenes
First Pan American Conference Convenes
On October 2, 1889, the First International Conference of American States convened in Washington, D.C. At this first Pan American Conference, as the 1889 gathering is more commonly known, representatives from all of the nations of the Western Hemisphere except Canada and the Dominican Republic came together for the first time. The meeting thus marked the beginning of an effort towards true international cooperation in the Americas.
The hope that the nations of the Western Hemisphere would come together to discuss matters of common interest originated as early as 1826, when Simon Bolívar, the liberator of South America, invited all the nations of North America and South America to the Congress of Panama. Bolívar's dream of establishing diplomatic unity among the nations of the Americas was premature as the congress adjourned before the American delegation arrived. However, Bolívar's plan was not forgotten.
Representatives of Latin American countries met several times in the mid and late 19th century to discuss possible alliances in the event of foreign attack and to deliberate on some aspects of international law. The United States did not take part in these conferences. In 1881, however, during the brief administration of President James A. Garfield, Secretary of State James G. Blaine invited delegates from the nations in the Western Hemisphere to a meeting to consider ways of “preventing war between the nations of America.” International difficulties in Latin America and domestic problems in the United States prevented the conference that was scheduled for 1882 from taking place, but interest in the hemispheric meeting soon revived.
In 1888 President Grover Cleveland instructed Secretary of State Thomas Bayard to invite the nations to a Pan American conference. Ironically, when the gathering convened on October 2, 1889, Blaine was again secretary of state, appointed by the new president, Benjamin Harrison.
The delegates to the first conference met for more than six months, undertook a railroad tour of the United States, and listened to countless speeches. Since most of the countries of Latin America had strong economic ties with Europe, the representatives rejected the plan for a customs union with the United States that Blaine proposed. However, on April 14, 1890, they created the International Union of American Republics, an information clearing-house based in Washington, D.C., which later became the Pan American Union. The delegates to the conference also approved a number of recommendations involving sanitary regulations, patents and trademarks, and other matters. Most significantly they established the precedent for later hemispheric cooperation that resulted in the holding of seven other Pan American conferences between 1901 and 1938 and that culminated in the formation of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1948. The charter of the OAS was the product of the ninth Pan American Conference (officially the Ninth International Conference of American States), which met at Bogotá, Colombia, from March 30 to May 2, 1948.